Do You Bicycle? Dedicated to the proposition that bike riding is good for you & fun. Commentary, links, news, opinion, reviews, stories, travelogue, & occasional heads up about events. Kiril Kundurazieff spreads the word & the word is BICYCLE!

In 2005 she wrote an essay for BookCrossing about the experience of "Hunting" for a book, and her 1st "Catch" of a book in the "Wild".

She had gone Hunting many times, when she got the Alert that a book was Released somewhere reachable by her:

I have talked to cheery baristas and grumpy security guards, asked them to look behind counters and in boxes, hoping that the errant book was either found or put away somewhere. As soon as a book gets released on the bus, the next day I've called up Metro Transit's Lost and Found, hoping that this time, the book will turn up.

Of course she was always too late to be the Catcher. ;-D

Then, one day, a miracle happened. ;-D

I happened to take a look at the "Go Hunting" page for Seattle. I was at work, downtown, and I had some errands to run on my bike around the U-District up to Lake City when work was done.

I happened to notice that one of the places to which books had just been released was at a laundromat at 25th and 55th. That was about 5 blocks from one of my errands, and surely I could make a brief diversion to see if any of the books were still there.

When I discovered that 8 books Released yesterday at my local Pet Shop were still on the premises, this morning, I took them all, and set them free again, at different locations in the surrounding area, over the next 2 hours. ;-D

August 11, 2007

Bicycling BookLovers of BookCrossing

What would you think if I told you there was a way to Spread the Joy of Reading while Bicycling?

What would think if I told you there are people all around the world doing what I described doing, 7 times, in my recent adventure along the coast?

What would you think if I told you there are Cyclists who don't think twice about taking a couple dozen books with them on a 25, 50, 100 mile, or more, ride, and setting them free for others to find, and maybe enjoy reading?

I know, I know, you're thinking... What the ? ;-D

Since February 2005 I have been a member of a worldwide community of book lovers, from most countries in the world, all ages, and all walks of life. ;-D

1st there was Phototag.org for tracking the travels of disposable cameras, and Where's George, for keeping track of those globetrotting gents named George, Andrew, Abe, and Ulysses, and the rest of their Currency Commrades.

6 years ago something new was born, and it is very cool, very stimulating, and edumicational, as well.

Bookcrossing.

As the site says: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single release."

In April 2001 Ron Hornbaker launched a website to share his love of a good book.

The idea is a simple one: Read a book, then instead of tossing it in the trash, giving it to the library, or to a friend, or relative, pass it on to a total stranger!

Do this by leaving it on a park bench, in the breakroom at work, on a bus, or train seat, in an office waiting room, a public restroom, or in any number of other public places where the little, or not so little, darling will be found.

Outfitted with a special bookplate, tracking number, and a note explaining the concept so the next person will know what to do if so inclined, the book can be tracked as it randomly travels from city to city, and even nation to nation, around the world.

Over 577,000 people have "released" over 4 million books "into the wild", and the term "bookcrossing" has its own category in the Google Directory, and is listed in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary.

When a book is "Caught" the finder follows notification instructions, and can leave a journal entry, and the person who released the book can get notified by e-mail about the books latest encounter.

While the finder of a book is not required to do anything of the sort, we hope they will, and it is part of the fun to see when, and where, a book shows up a gain.

1 book, Released in the Wild, took over 5 years before being heard from again, and others go anywhere from 1 year to 4.

Some books travel, from state to state, and country to country, and we learn of this when they are Journaled by someone.

One of the many fun aspects is that you can be a "Hunter".

There is a list of countries with books "In the wild." After registering and releasing a book, members have the option of making Release Notes, specifying where exactly ( or approximately ) they left a book, and approximately when.

There are actually people traipsing around looking for a particular book!

This is similar to those folks leaving, finding, and cataloging, hidden items in the wilderness ( Geocaching ).

While membership is free there is a supply store for purchasing Official Bookplates of various types, and cost, if you don't want to make one of your own, and Book Release Bags, and more.

There are also Bookcrossing Meet-ups.

There is much more to this endeavor, and our Community.

Since I have no car, my bike, and the bus, take me to where I set books free.

You can learn about my "Bookshelf", my "Resurrection Project", and the Books I've Registered, and Released,here.

If you decide to join, please list Sneakeasy as the member who Referred you. ;-D

In my sidebar is a link to Wren's Crossing, an "Everything ya ever wanted to know about BookCrossing" Site. ;-D

The Home Page for BookCrossing is here, and you can explore the whole Community.

This blog was written from SanTana, Near the Orange Crush!More Stimulating BikeBlogging!

Proud to have been one of the BEST BikeBlogs in the USA, and the World: Jan. 2003 -Aug. 2010!

Do You Bicycle? Dedicated to the proposition that bike riding is good for you and fun. Commentary, links, news, opinion, reviews, stories, travelogue, and occasional heads up about events. An ordinary road cyclist spreads the word and the word is BICYCLE!

Dear Visitor: Most of the Cycling Resource Links that used to be in this sidebar are now on my other Blog, where I will continue writing about my adventures as a Bicyclist:Musings of a Mad Macedonian

AND LAST, BUT NOT LEAST...THE GREATEST HONOR THIS BLOG HAS EVER RECEIVED IN ITS HISTORY:

Nov. 12, 2010:

Thank you for honoring the shop I have grown up in and love. We are still an old time shop but are trying to keep up with the times with the Kopp's Cycle Website -- Charles Kuhn - Owner (Comment left here: Kopp's Selling Bikes since 1891 - A story I posted in March 2005, and he also replied to my Thanks with this: "You seem to be someone who experiences life while the rest of us just live."

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